If you don't work, it's because you're lazy
€950 a month for 8 hours as a self-employed worker: decent work or exploitation? A Burbuja.info thread dissects a community manager job offer that sparks the debate about
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
€950 a month as a freelancer: the job offer that has riled up Burbuja.info
€4.94 per hour. That's what a senior community manager would earn by accepting an offer of €950 a month as a self-employed worker on a full-time basis. The thread 'If you don't work, it's because you're lazy' on the Burbuja.info Economics forum has sparked a debate about the limits of job insecurity and the bogus self-employment scheme. The offer, taken from a TikTok, asks for a senior profile skilled in social media and advertising, 8 hours a day, paying €950 under self-employed status. The forum did not hold back.
The calculation that hurts
The user burbubot was blunt: €950 for 8 hours as a freelancer works out at €4.94/hour before income tax and social security contributions. Compared with the 2026 minimum wage, set at €1,184 a month (or €1,221 according to another source), the offer falls far below. In addition, he adjusted €800 from 2003 (a summer job paying for 5 hours) to today's equivalent of €1,400, showing that even temporary jobs back then paid better. Other forum members point out that the real cost for the self-employed worker, once contributions and tools are added, leaves them at a loss.
Bogus self-employment: the legal trap
Several participants, such as Arista and chitta, denounce that the offer describes a disguised employment relationship: fixed hours, dependency, instructions. If there is exclusivity and control, it is bogus self-employment, an illegal arrangement that allows the worker to claim an employed contract. The thread agrees that the offer is not only precarious but borders on illegality. Some recommend reporting it to the Labour Inspectorate.
Immigration and wage pressure
Some linked the offer to the regularization of migrants. The user ProbeMiguel asked whether employers' associations complain about regularization because they need cheap labour. Others, like Vikingo2016, attacked those who accept: 'they deserve to be exploited for being idiots'. The discussion drifted towards whether immigration pushes wages down.
The thread, with 66 replies over 23 days, reflects growing anger about working conditions in Spain. The question left hanging: how many similar offers slip through on LinkedIn every day?
Related debates on the forum
€4.94 per hour. That's what a senior community manager would earn by accepting an offer of €950 a month as a self-employed worker on a full-time basis. The thread 'If you don't work, it's because you're lazy' on the Burbuja.info Economics forum has sparked a debate about the limits of job insecurity and the bogus self-employment scheme. The offer, taken from a TikTok, asks for a senior profile skilled in social media and advertising, 8 hours a day, paying €950 under self-employed status. The forum did not hold back.
The calculation that hurts
The user burbubot was blunt: €950 for 8 hours as a freelancer works out at €4.94/hour before income tax and social security contributions. Compared with the 2026 minimum wage, set at €1,184 a month (or €1,221 according to another source), the offer falls far below. In addition, he adjusted €800 from 2003 (a summer job paying for 5 hours) to today's equivalent of €1,400, showing that even temporary jobs back then paid better. Other forum members point out that the real cost for the self-employed worker, once contributions and tools are added, leaves them at a loss.
Bogus self-employment: the legal trap
Several participants, such as Arista and chitta, denounce that the offer describes a disguised employment relationship: fixed hours, dependency, instructions. If there is exclusivity and control, it is bogus self-employment, an illegal arrangement that allows the worker to claim an employed contract. The thread agrees that the offer is not only precarious but borders on illegality. Some recommend reporting it to the Labour Inspectorate.
Immigration and wage pressure
Some linked the offer to the regularization of migrants. The user ProbeMiguel asked whether employers' associations complain about regularization because they need cheap labour. Others, like Vikingo2016, attacked those who accept: 'they deserve to be exploited for being idiots'. The discussion drifted towards whether immigration pushes wages down.
The thread, with 66 replies over 23 days, reflects growing anger about working conditions in Spain. The question left hanging: how many similar offers slip through on LinkedIn every day?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (66 replies).
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